Abyss
by Zenes
Summary: Fanfic for the novel 'This world must fall', a novel that uses the Cthulhu Mythology as background. For your wish to come true, you must end this world...
1. Prologue

A dull sound echoed through the Frost Cave.

Chris leaped back. With a groan, Skesary reeled.

My turn.

I ran forwards, passing Chris, who gave me a thumbs-up.

Black 'Sword Aura' flowed out from my sword like a mist.

Gripping the hilt tightly, I leapt over the snow-covered ground.

The next moment, the blade had sunk deep into Skesary's chest, the black aura still storming around it.

Skesary let out a shriek. It was like the breaking of lake ice on a winterday.

And the last of the Ice Dragons fell.

I withdrew my sword. The familiar metallic tang of blood wafted up.

[Your party has broken the 'Frost Cave'!]

[Congratulations! You have cleared the game!]

[Total number of game clearances: 7]

I was panting beside the dragon's corpse.

-You rock, man!

-Come out, we'll give you a tossing!

Messages from my teammates were pouring in. They would scattered across the dungeon, fending of the dragon's underlings.

-Captain here. To all attackers, get out of the dungeon and wait. You can go back to Castle Raiton if you want.

Chris approached, tears in her eyes. It had been a hard fight. The system allowed only 2 players in this deepest level.

"Did- did we really clear? This is real right?"

"Yes, we did."

"We did it! We did it!"

Chris hugged me and let out a sound that was half sobbing, half cheering. As did most of my other partners that slew Skesary

with me. I did the same thing on my first clear.

After a minute, I pulled her up.

"Come on, the others are waiting."

We went back to Castle Raiton, and had long, hard celebration. As the countdown for 'Logout' began, Chris turned to me.

"Remember that tour-program I told you about?"

"Sure. Why?"

"One of the 3-day-spots is your city...and I was wondering whether you could show me around."

"You know how to use a navigation app don't you?

"I don't want to spend 3 days talking to a machine!"

Chris seemed taken aback by my cold tone. I made sure my voice was even colder as I answered.

"Don't expect to be friends with me in the real world just because we were friendly here."

Chris stepped back. I watched as her beautiful face slowly distorted. One of the perculiarities of this game, ARON, was

that the players were stuck with their real faces, and it was very easy to see all the lines of someone's face shift as

they made different expressions. I could see all the hurt I needed on her face before she even started to make her

answer.

And then I was gone.

S

S

I took the headset off and got up from the bed, hoping I had discouraged her enough.

I never met anyone I knew inside games in the real world. All my social relations were restricted to the virtual world.

To the battlefield.

Whenever I left it, it refused to let go, and followed me everywhere.

I could always see and hear. Clearly. The faces of my comrades as they died. The faces of the enemies I killed. GunshotsSmellofBlood

ShoutGutsssStinkBloooodonBayonetDuusthhhhhahahahhihihi.

The war was over. But the insides of my head was still messed up with it.

I leaned out the window. It would be so much easier to just end it all. Yet I refused. Refused to let that last part of my mind break.

To make everything meaningless. To forget.

If only I could...

And then, the world changed.


	2. The Quickening of Chaos

"Doubt each other! Of course, there are times when you have to cooperate. But really, it would be best to kill, get rid of future trouble."

The 'administrator' finished her long explanation.

I shook my head. A 10-year old girl talking so easily of murder.

It was a game we were supposed to play. A game based on ARON. Not the same, as we would have more freedom to direct things.

Only 25 out of the 3000 players would be left to clear the game. The same number of people that a single 'raid team' could hold.

The 25 winners, would have their wishes come true.

The 2975 losers would die, in the real world.

The plaza grew tumultuous.

"And why do we have to play along with you?"

"I've had enough of this joke! Get us back!"

As the shouts grew louder, the little girl held up the rolled-up parasol she was holding and pointed it at someone.

The next instant, a human head burst apart.

Bits of blood, bone and brain flew everywhere, and the crowd was startled into silence.

"There's no 'have to'" The girl said pleasantly. "You're free to go back to your lives if you want. But would you want to?

We made sure everyone here holds some sort of desire their hearts, a wish you would die for. This is chance to receive a miracle,

folks. Get 1st place in the lottery 10 times in a row, bring a few people back from the dead...you name it. Our 'customers' can do

anything...just put up a good enough show, and you may get even more than what I promised you now..."

It was insane, all of it. On the other hand, I had just been moved, inexplicably, from my room to this strange place within the blink of an eye.

There was still the problem of whether the girl was being truthful about the prize, but...

I could see that the girl had at least been speaking the truth about people here being desperate. Every face mirrored the

thought in my head; Even if this was some sort of great hoax, it might worth it to try...

"I see I've given you enough motivation. Now, the next thing to take care of-"

Suddenly, everything went pitch-black. Then a beam of light fell on me. Around, I could see 3 other spot-lights.

"These 4 people have cleared the game ARON at least 5 times. I'll call them 'Elite Players', from now on."

I cursed to myself. One of my advantages had just gone to pieces. Now I was 'Competitor to get rid of No.1'.

"The 'Elite Players' will get special classes right out from the start. 'Elite Knight', 'Elite Sorceror', 'Elite Assassin', 'Elite Hunter'."

Eyes were already turning holtile. Shouts of protest began to break out. Somebody spat at me.

The girl seemed to enjoy the ensuing chaos for a while. After a moment, she raised her hand, and the crowd went silent again.

"Of course, there are penalties as well. 'Elite Players' cannot ally with each other. They can't be in the same 'party' or even the

same 'raid team'. If more than 1 'Elite Player' is alive at the end of the game, they will have kill each other."

A chill went up my spine. I certainly wouldn't want to face myself as an enemy.

"And say I can do away with them. The 3rd time this battle royale was held, it progressed so slowly that our viewer ratings plummeted!"

So that was the reason for elite players. ARON was an MMORPG, with 'Events' happening simultaneously all across the map.

Thus, it was likely that elite players would be scattered far apart from each other. How quickly we organized our own forces would

decide the outcome of this game.

'I have start at the Arcrad continent. The North. Princess Hilder is there.'

Hilder, First Princess of the Empire. The one that could build the strongest faction in the 'Throne War'.

Even Dragon Knight Alecsandro would pledge his allegiance to her.

"Oh, these 'Elite Players' are always the same. Look at their faces, everyone! See that calculating expression? Look closely, they're

going to be your life-lines."

I wanted to see the other elites, but there were too many people.

"Now, I'll assign the elite classes and start the game."

Elite Knight or Elite Hunter. Not Sorceror, I sucked at magic. ARON was always about talent-

The words 'Elite Sorceror' flashed before me.

I never did have luck with these sort of things.

"My, my, look at their faces! Did you think you could get the class that suits you most? That would be so boring! I made sure you

all got the opposite of what you needed."

At least I wasn't the only one.

"Excuse me," someone called out. "How long will this take? I mean, my sister's body might start to...degenerate..."

"Same as ARON. 6 years inside the game, 6 hours in real time. And it doesn't matter how much your sister's corpse rots, it's all the

same for our most respectable viewers."

The administrator raised both her arms. "Now, chosen warriors! Deceive, cooperate, kill! Show us tragedy, comedy, heroics, anything

is fine. Those with good 'scenarios' might even get special prizes!"

The next moment, the floor disappeared. An endless abyss swallowed us.

S

S

S

ARON was highly infamous. 3000 people per server was practically miniscule considering the size of the game market today, but it suited

a game that had no pain dampers, no inventory system, was too realistic for fun.

What's more, the tutorial stage was focused on teaching you the importance of cooperation, the hard way, which meant that most of the players

experienced several dozen deaths before they even started the main game.

At least in ARON, you could repeat the tutorials until you succeeded. I was quite certain that in _this_ game, we wouldn't be give such generosity.

A whip cracked across my back.

"Move it!"

It was a forest. The moonlight falling through the branches did nothing to lighten the atmosphere, but only added to the gloom.

My hands were tied together, walking on aching feet. Two long lines of captives.

The white hot pain buckled my knees, and I stumbled. The captive next to me held out his tied hands to support me.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"Perseverance," the man whispered back. "Hardship from the father suns will cleanse us and our families of sin."

The peculiar word choice caught my attention. I stared at the man's armour. A brief ray of moonlight caught on the emblem of 3 golden suns.

No. **NO**. Not _this_ tutorial.

'The Quickening of Chaos'

In this particular tutorial, I was one of the Radiant Arms, troops sent by the pontiff to defend Veia, the holy city. Rather like the crusaders in the real world.

Radiant Arms had been defeated by the elves and the remnants were now being dragged to the king of the elves to decide on their disposal.

The worst tutorial of the game. In this tutorial, players were _not _supposed to survive.

Silently, I spoke the command word.

'Status.'

The game interface appeared, and I examined it.

ID: Ethel Vice

Level: 12

Class: Elite Sorceror

Strength: 18

Stamina: 15

Reflex: 20

Intelligence: 48

Faith: 32

Magic: 45

Mentality: 68

Characteristic: The Wandering Wise

Skill 1. Charms

2\. Astral Shield

3\. Memorization of Wise

4.

5.

The abnormally high mental and magical stat points had to be the influence of the 'Elite Sorceror' class, and the other points were also higher that normal thanks to my

background as one of the Radiant Arms. The game was fantastically obssessive about reality, and brought even such small details into application.

But it was no use. The only thing that would be of any help in this tutorial was Astral Shield, the highest of all Shield Magic. It not only defended but also acted as kind

of 'field'. Yet it would not save me from the last disaster.

I looked up at the sky. 3 moons shone in the night sky. The mother goddesses of the elves. When the clouds obscured them, chaos, the 'Forgotten Kings' would return

to this world.

A large shadow passed over us.

Ravens. Not the small blackbirds, but the gigantic NightWings were flying toward us, chasing after their prey.

A loud creaking echoed through the woods. The procession stopped as the elves started to unsheath their swords.

Below, the ground was turning into what looked like mire. A deep, blue-black.

The Abyss.

The earth shook, and suddenly from the front something gigantic charged.

Rock and dirt flew everywhere as a gigantic mouth opened to reveal dozens of yellow fangs.

An Abyss Snake. It landed in the middle of the procession with a large splurch, and wounds on its body sprayed its 'blood' everywhere. Both elves and humans screamed as

they fell to the the ground, the black, dripping mass quickly eroding their bodies. The lines broke, and people began to scatter. I dodged one man and knelt down beside

an elven knight. Quickly, I drew his knife and started sawing through the ropes on my wrists. They were specially made and couldn't be burned by magic. More screams,

as the fallen dead rose again and threw themselves at the living.

I noticed something. In ARON, the game system would state your fear rate and insanity rate, depending on your surrounding conditions. It even made you feel

fake heartbeats as your fear rate went up, all for the sake of reality. Yet no system announcements had been made so far, and I was still relatively calm.

My hands finally free, I sheathed the knife and pushed it under my belt. With my other hand, I reached for the longer sword that had fallen beside the elf. Only to find it gone.

The next moment, a blade was at my throat.

A breathless voice came from behind me. "It's you, isn't it? Elite player?"

I raised both hands and turned around, slowly.

It was man. Wide shoulders, muscular. A bit of a jaw. He had the image of a soldier.

I nodded.

"Is there a way to get out of here?"

I nodded again.

He surprised me, by turning the sword around and handing me the hilt.

"This is my goodwill...remember, I could've killed you just now, but I didn't."

"..."

"So, please, tell me how to get out!"

I did not take the sword. I could only take him if he was the sort of person I needed.

"What's your class?"

"My class?"

"Didn't you check your status? Open the interface and do it now."

The man did not hesitate, but responded immediately. I liked that.

"Hunter. Do you want my skills as well?"

I took the sword.

"Let's go. We're going to look for someone with Bard class."

"Bard?"

"Nothing else. Do you understand me?"

The Huneter looked around. It was pandemonium. The dead and the living were tangled together. The woods were thick on both sides, forbidding escape.

"But..."

"Forget your compassion. I can only save one more."

I turned, and ran to the rear. Many had fled this way, and I asked everyone I saw.

Warrior, Hunter, Priest, Warrior...

"Elite, here!"

The Hunter was standing beside a girl. 12, 13 years old?

"Behind you!" I warned.

3 'Dead' were charging at him. I ran forwards, drawing the knife. It flew through the air and hit one of the heads. 2 more to go.

As I passed the Hunter we exchanged a glance. He headed for the left one, while I faced the other. It lunged at me. I stepped aside. The corpses teeth clamped down

on thin air. At that moment, my blade sank deeply into its neck. I couldn't cut it off cleanly, I wasn't strong enough yet.

Its last throes traveled up the blade into the hilt. I kicked its body away to get the blade out.

Screeches. The snake had momentarily thrown off the NightWings that had been attacking it. It reared, then sped forward.

Right towards me.

I wouldn't have to worry about its blood-the sheer impact would kill me.

"What are you doing! Run!"

I had about 1 second, to consider the difference between ordinary spells and spells that were set as skills.

[Astral Shield]

The next moment, a great silver hexagon was humming overhead, all its parts delicately over each other.

The snake hit it. The shield shone brilliantly, then faded away. I could not use magic without properly understanding it, but as long as it was a 'skill', it would activate.

It was enough. There was no impact, no splattering of blood.

"That, that was great, what you did-"

"We don't have time for small talk."

I turned to look at the girl. "She's a Bard," the Hunter said.

Suddenly the forest went even darker. I looked up. Clouds obscured the moons. Yet the sky itself wasn't dark. Numerous stars were shining across the sky, completely

ignoring the clouds in front of them. Brilliant, terrible white light.

For the 'Forgotten Kings' were of the stars.

And then the sky ripped apart.

The NightWings were rising, fleeing from the monster to come.

I faced the girl. "Listen to me, you see those birds?" She nodded. "You need to call to them. Ask for help, in the name of Carenthen, the black sun."

"Hel, Help us-"

"Louder!"

"In the name of Carenthen! Help us!"

One of the NightWings swerved. From the break in the sky, pale fingers slid out to grab the air.

6 fingers.

Each as long as the height of a man.

My heart was pounding. My head spun. Suddenly I wanted to kill someone.

The NightWing flew towards us.

A clock was turning inside my head. 3 seconds, 2 seonds...

A foot was leaving the break. The toes were twisted in such a horrible way that it made my skin crawl. Black dripped from its ends.

It was maddeningly long. That last single moment as the 3 seconds were all counted.

0 seconds.

The gigantic bird swooped down on us. It reached for us with its talons. The Hunter started to back off and I had to snap at him to stay still.

A little more late, and we would have been dead.

From the break, 'Kelkek-Shak' was thrusting out its face. The despairing cries of both Player and NPC could be heard high up in the sky.

The NightWing was soaring away with us, deperately fleeing.

Yet I knew, that it was just as well. For this night, this event was the beginning of the end.


End file.
